When the Wounds Mend
by aleey
Summary: [AU Slash.] Chapter Three: Hermione convinces Remus to get Sirius back. Draco gets a revelation from a plant. Remus sings Sirius a love song. Ron becomes a genius. [HPDM.SBRL.RWHG.]
1. Default Chapter

**Author: **Masqued.

**Rating: **PG-13 (To be safe)

**Summary**: Warning: Complete AU and Harry/Draco Harry is a college student with Ron and Hermione. Draco is a fellow student, whose past is linked to Harry's. Harry lives with his godfather, Sirius Black, who owns a café in London. No Magic Whatsoever.

**Title: **When the Wound Mends

**Chapter Summary: **Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc. etc. are all introduced. Harry has his first encounter with Draco. Harry and Draco's pasts are revealed.

**--**

Rain plummeted to the ground from impregnated dark gray clouds as they rolled into one another in the sky. Lightning bolts flashed brightly and streaked the sky, thunderous sounds erupting shortly after. Not a single ray of sunshine could be seen throughout the entire sky – it was as though night had never left, or as though the sun had decided to never return.

Down the cobblestone streets of London were large puddles that ran deep into delved streets. Civilians jogged the sidewalks and roads quickly to avoid getting too wet, umbrella's above them providing very little protection. People in hysterics whistled for taxis that would screech to a halt. Other people were racing down the streets to reach buses that were about to leave. One lone male was racing down the street, white button-down shirt clinging to his slim torso as he attempted to beat the rain. Flopping, untidy raven hair pointed in every direction, and would change direction with each step. A black messenger bag swung at his hip as he continued his jogging, flopping against his side causing his rain soaked clothes to cling harder against this legs. Above his eyes but below his hairline sat a folded newspaper that he was using as a visor.

Trudging just a few more steps, he reached his destination and quickly grabbed the slick metal handle for the door to a small café he'd left to get a newspaper earlier that morning.

"Mornin' there Harry!" Chimed a cheerful voice from behind the counter. Sniffling deeply and shaking his wet hair like a wet dog, Harry Potter looked up to the owner of the small café.

"Hey, Dad!" He answered just as cheerfully with a deep, wide grin piercing his lips as they parted. After dragging his feet across the rug to dry them, he strode to the counter and plopped down directly in front of Sirius Black. "Le' me get my usual?" He asked, still grasping for breath.

"'Course, kid." Sirius turned his back to Harry and proceeded to pour a small mug to the brim with freshly brewed coffee. "Sure is raining cats and dogs out there," Sirius muttered absently before turning to his right to add the whipped topping to Harry's drink.

"I know, and I have to get to school in an hour." Harry groaned and leaned over the counter toward the register to grab himself a scone and a donut. A small bell jingled, bringing Sirius's attention to another customer that had entered.

"Mornin' Ron, Hermione." Sirius turned back to the coffee he was making for Harry.

"Morning Sirius! Hey, Harry," Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend, ruffled his own hair and pulled off his scarf before walking over to where Harry was and sat beside him.

"Hey Ron," Harry leaned over his shoulder to look at his other best friend, a thick wavy-haired girl that was just a few inches shorter than him. "Hey, Hermione." She waved back and soon took a seat next to Ron.

"You kids want your usual, too?" Sirius asked, leaning over the counter to look at the newcomers.

"Of course!" Ron stated enthusiastically. Harry snorted.

"You're taking Psychology with Snape this semester, aren't you?" Hermione asked, barely looking up from a newspaper she was poring over.

"Yep. I'm a little nervous – a lot of people say he's not the nicest of teachers here." Ron chuckled.

"Well, just watch out Harry."

"Thanks, I'll try." Harry laughed and looked back to Sirius, who placed his coffee in front of him. "Mmm, coffee. Does the body good." Sirius nodded as Harry grabbed the cup handle and brought the mug to his lips, nearly tipping the whipped cream over the edge and onto the saucer.

"I'm taking Child Care," Hermione stated, as though Harry or Ron had asked a question pertaining to what her field would be.

"We know," Harry muttered between sips. She threw him a glare, then turned back to her newspaper.

Sirius watched the three nineteen year olds thoughtfully. He'd seen Harry since he was born – he'd raised the boy. Ron and Hermione were new additions to their little group, as Harry and they had met in College the past year. Sirius continued to watch with amusement as the three chatted on about school and other things involved, then turned his attention to the cash register.

"Harry, will you be able to work tonight?" Harry's head turned from where it was facing Ron to looking at Sirius.

"Sure, but it won't be until about five. That all right?" Sirius nodded and opened the cash register.

"That's fine." Harry nodded and then turned to look at his watch.

"Damn, I need to get out of here. Dad, can I borrow your motorbike?" Sirius looked up and gave Harry a wary glance, then chuckled.

"'Course. You know where the keys are. Don't forget the helmet, and don't wear the leather jacket! It'll soil in the rain." Harry nodded his head and waved his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" He turned his attention to Ron and Hermione. "Well, see you two later!" He waved the both of them off and then turned toward the back of the café.

Outback was Sirius's black motorbike. Nothing special, just his old, beat up motorbike that could use a new paint job. But Harry and Sirius didn't care much, since Harry only used it when he needed a fast ride somewhere, and Sirius only used it on dates, because otherwise, he never left the café.

Grabbing the keys from the infamous leather jacket, Harry revved up the ignition, pulled the helmet and visor on over his head, made sure his bag was secure on his waist, then pulled out of the parking lot and onto the roads.

--

Professor Snape was preparing for his class. On the blackboard was the syllabus for the entire semester. He was famous for not actually giving a syllabus out, but instead, making each student write the due dates on their own separate sheet of paper as to make them more responsible. If they were in dire need of one of the assignments due dates, they would have to get it from a fellow student – he would never give them assistance on it.

Above the syllabus was, in neat cursive handwriting, his name, Professor Severus Snape, and then the date to the right of it. Placing the chalk down onto the small ledge given by the chalkboard, Snape dusted his chalk-covered hands and then pulled the chair out of his desk and sat down.

Slowly but surely, students began to file into the classroom. A small group of boisterous boys stood at the doorway, nearly blocking the steady flow of students that entered the classroom, and two girls who took middle seats had already opened their laptops and started taking down the syllabus while chatting about how great the class was going to be.

Snape could only hope it was better than they expected.

--

Draco Malfoy pulled slowly into a parking spot near the entrance of the school. His small, black buggy purred softly before he pulled out the key, twirled it around his finger, then stepped out of the car. His platinum-blond hair was still drying, hanging limply in a wet manner down to his earlobes. Pale gray eyes glanced around the parking lot for any familiar faces before he turned from the front of his car and toward the entrance.

He hadn't been looking where he was walking when he was nearly run over by a car. He wasn't hit, but he was shocked, and the bright headlights threw him off guard. He fell in front of the car, shielding his eyes from the bright lights.

The driver peered out of the window, screaming things like 'Are you ok?' and 'I'm sorry I can't stay and help, but I need to go…' but Draco was tuning them out. He didn't care. He just needed to get to class. Grabbing his head, he shook from side to side in an attempt to stop the blinding lights that continued to reoccur in his head, until he felt a strong hand clench his arm and hold him steady.

"You ok?" He turned his blurred attention to a pair of striking green eyes. He was caught off guard as he focused and noticed that the features of the face that owned the eyes were just as striking. Slowly, he gathered his thoughts, and brought himself to speak.

"I'm fine," he brushed the hand off, a little rougher and ruder than he intended. The boy that had helped him made a 'tuhhing' noise with his mouth and then slowly walked passed Draco.

"_Sorry_," The unruly-haired, amazingly striking-featured boy muttered, holding his hands up in defense. Draco kicked himself mentally for being a bastard to someone that genuinely had wanted to see if he was ok.

'_Well, no point in crying over spilled milk. This boy was a mere fifteen seconds of my life_' Draco reminded himself, then continued on his path toward his first class.

Oddly enough, he found himself following the same route as the boy that had stopped to help him. And in an unlikely coincodence, he also found himself entering the same exact classroom. He shook it all off and walked down the same row as the boy, but took a seat two seats away, so he could examine, but not interrogate.

"Welcome, students. My name is Professor Severus Snape. You can call me Professor Snape, nothing else." A tall, pale man stepped forward from behind his desk, thick black hair pulled back in an untidy, loose ponytail. "Since it is mandatory for me to do so, I will start with attendance."

Draco slouched slightly in his chair as he placed his laptop up and onto the given table in front of him then began to tap the keys gently, copying down the syllabus on the board.

"…Longbottom, Neville…" Oh, no. Not him. Draco turned cautiously to look behind him at the boy whose name had been called. Neville Longbottom was a boy that he'd graduated high school with just two years prior. The boy could barely do anything right, and half the time was apologizing because had dropped one thing or another. Sucking in a bitter breath of irritation, Draco turned his attention back forward.

"…Malfoy, Draco…" Draco's head shot up.

"Here." He raised his hand up, received a smirk from Professor Snape, then continued with his writing. Of course Severus knew him. He didn't smirk back.

"…Potter, Harry…" Draco tensed. Harry Potter? No, that couldn't be. That was _impossible_. Draco sucked in a deep breath and saw Harry Potter, the boy he'd followed in earlier, raise his hand.

--

Harry closed his laptop as Psychology finally ended. Taking in a deep breath, he whispered a soft prayer in hopes that no one would come to him to talk to him. Perhaps if he darted out of the classroom as fast as he could –

"Harry Potter, hmm?" Draco Malfoy, if Harry remembered correctly.

"Yes." He replied sharply.

"I remember you. You were that kid that was orphaned. You're parents were…"

"Yes, Malfoy. My parents were murdered."

Draco stiffened. Apparently Harry was still put off by the rude display he'd been given earlier.

"Well, Potter, don't expect _pity_ from someone like me."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Draco's eyes narrowed.

"A little testy, are we?"

"Only with rude bastards." Draco smirked.

"Then don't look in the mirror, you might throw a fit." Harry seethed and clenched his fists tightly.

"What the hell's your problem, Malfoy?"

"Nothing, just having some simple conversation."

"Well I'd _rather_ if you made your _simple_ conversation _elsewhere_ with someone else." Draco chuckled.

"Oh, but this is so _fun_."

Without saying a word, Harry sped in the opposite direction of Draco and immediately left the vicinity. The motorbike ride back would give him time to blow off some steam, and he needed to hit the bookstore, so he considered going to Chang's Book Store and poring through some novels before doing anything else.

Nearly shoving the key into the ignition, he revved the motorbike up and sped off out of the parking lot, not caring about the helmet that he'd accidentally left in the basket. Once at a red light, he recalled that he did indeed need the helmet and pulled it onto his head before tearing off down the streets on top speed.

"Damn it." Harry couldn't _help_ but feel painful memories boiling in his mind. He gritted his teeth and revved the motorbike faster, nearly passing the speed limit. Thankfully, though, by the time he reached Chang's Book Store, he felt rather peaceful about it all. He managed to let most of his frustrations out on the road.

"Harry!" Cho Chang's warm features made a lot of the pain Harry was experiencing melt away. Cho Chang was his ex-girlfriend. Though most break-ups usually ended in the two not talking, Cho and he had managed to stay rather close friends.

"Cho, how have you been?" He asked shedding the jacket he wore to keep himself warm and placed it on a stool beside Cho.

"Oh, wonderful! Tomorrow I get to start my first class in Music Theory!" She grinned widely and then leaned over the counter to give Harry a warm hug.

"I'm glad for you," He smiled weakly. She pulled away and examined him thoroughly.

"Harry Potter, what's wrong?" He smirked.

"How do you do that?" She gave him a warm smile.

"We dated, remember?" He shook his head. "So," she patted the seat next to her, "what's wrong?"

Harry pulled himself onto the seat. "Well, you see…" he proceeded to tell her the entire situation with Malfoy that had happened only twenty minutes previous to his arrival. Her face scrunched up, then relaxed as she patted his shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It runs in his family for people to be irritating, arrogant, and horribly obnoxious. They're a bunch of spoiled brats." Harry snorted.

"You've got that right," he turned to a few customers that were trotting around the store, looking at different books. Cho told him that she'd be right back and to man the fort while she was away, then went to help a customer that was wandering around the store aimlessly.

Harry was over-taken by a book in his hands, _The Wizards First Rule_ by Terry Goodkind, when someone's very sharp 'ahem' caught his attention. He slowly looked up to the customer in front of him and was immediately met with a pair of gray eyes. Again.

"Ah, Potter, so we meet again." Harry closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to control his anger.

"Following me are you, Malfoy?" Draco snorted.

"Don't flatter yourself," he motioned to the book that was sitting on the desk in front of him.

Harry blinked as he read the title, then looked to the book in his hand. It was impossible. He and Malfoy had the same taste in books? Harry suddenly felt disgusted with the book he had in his hand and placed it down before ringing up Draco's total.

"Seven pounds," Harry stated flatly, giving Draco one last plain glance. Draco handed over the paper money and Harry pushed a few more buttons on the register, allowing the drawer to pop open, and handed Draco back his change.

"You know Potter, you're never going to make it in Psychology." Harry's eyes shot up toward Draco.

"Oh? And you're suddenly a fortune-teller, Malfoy?" Draco snorted.

"No," he leaned in further so his face was few inches from Harry's left ear, "but I know mental instability when I see it." Harry bit back his anger and dug his finger nails into his palms to relieve himself of the anger.

"Shove off, Malfoy," he seethed through gritted teeth. Draco smirked in response.

"Cheers, Potter." With that, the blond scurried off out of the store.

Harry kept a watchful eye on Draco as he left. That boy just boiled him up inside – and he'd barely known him more than four hours! He'd managed to wiggle his annoying ferret-like features into his mind and leave a lasting mark of irritation in the recesses of his thoughts. Mentally, he cursed Draco out for having such a quick impact on him.

"What was _that_ all about?" Cho slid next to Harry and took his hand in her own.

"Just a little trouble with a git," Harry replied, anger being relieved with the gentle squeeze Cho gave his hand.

"Well, not to make things worse, but I think he likes you. Watch out."

"Well, he'll have to be a _little_ nicer if he wants my attention. I'm not a fifth-grade girl that knows a guy likes me because his initial way of speaking with me is by calling me names." Harry snorted as Cho wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. That was another thing that had ended Harry and Cho's relationship – Harry's sexuality. At the time, he didn't think he could be attracted to anyone _but_ Cho – he'd thought so for the past four years – but then he finally began to develop feelings that didn't mean love and physical touching. Cho found it _adorable_.

"Aw! Sounds like you've got something for him boiling in that mind of yours!" She choked back a hearty giggle as she prodded his left temple gently with her index finger. He brushed her hand away from his head, then turned to look at her.

"Cho, love, I'm off. Dad needs help at the café tonight. Stop by, you're always welcome." He leaned down and pecked her right cheek, then left with one last goodbye hug.

Then, he was back on the road again.

--

"What do you _mean_ I can't go out with him?" Hermione squiggled out of her jacket and hung it up on the coat rack of Sirius's café. Ron gave her another one of his indignant glares.

"Hermione, he looks like a bird!" Hermione spat at him and then flipped her hair over her shoulder before walking toward the counter.

"You two acting like a married couple again?" Both Hermione and Ron shot Sirius dark looks. He held his hands up in defense. "All right, all right, I'm sorry… cookies?" They both nodded their head, Ron more enthusiastically than Hermione.

The bell rang to warn Sirius that someone had entered.

"Harry, good, you're here right on time. I need to go smoke a cigarette, take over?" Harry nodded his head, though cast a rather cold glance to Sirius as he mentioned smoking.

"I'll take over – but you need to stop giving yourself lung cancer." Sirius shrugged Harry off with a smile and began to hit the fresh box of cigarettes against the palm of his hand before walking out back to smoke one of them.

"Are you two not talking again?" Hermione shot a glance to Harry.

"He said I can't even _try_ dating Seamus Finnigan! It's as though I'm going to get thrown off a bridge if I try it!" Harry chuckled and looked to Ron, who was staring determinedly into his hot coffee.

"Well, maybe that's because Seamus is looking to get into any girls pants." Hermione looked up at Harry with a very shocked expression. "What!" He held his hands up in defense. "It's true, and you know it. I mean, think about Pansy!" Hermione slumped down against the counter.

"Told you," Ron muttered, turning his spoon counter clockwise in his cup. Hermione 'hmphed' next to him and grabbed her own mug as Harry chuckled.

"…Ah, my best friends." He chuckled again. As if they had discussed it mentally, both Ron and Hermione sat up and stuck their tongues out at Harry childishly, causing Harry to nearly fall back against a pot of brewing coffee, laughing terribly hard. "…That sadly act like five-year olds." He chuckled softly and turned to fix around the brewing pot of coffee when the bell above the door jangled.

"One sec," Harry murmured, staring deeply into the pot of simmering coffee, then turned, yet again, meet a pair of dark gray eyes. "Now I _know_ you're following me." Draco Malfoy snorted.

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter." He spat Harry's last name out as though it were a vile taste in his mouth. Harry's eyes narrowed, but he managed to keep his anger at bay.

"What can I get for you, _sir_?" Draco's grin widened.

"Oh, just a large decaf and a strawberry scone, if you have," Harry nodded his head and set to work immediately.

"To go?" He asked absently while digging around beneath the cupboard for a bag.

"No, I think I'd like to stick around a bit." Harry tensed unevenly in his gut and stood up as slowly as he could, avoiding any eye contact with Draco. He finished the coffee and placed the scone delicately on a plate for the blond.

"Six pounds," Harry muttered absently and pressed a few keys on the register.

Draco pulled the money from his pocket and placed it into Harry's hand, then dipped down to take the cup and scone.

"Hello, Hermione," Draco muttered, eyeing the girl where she sat. Hermione's eyes remained fixedly on her coffee, which she simply swirled around clockwise in the cup. Draco gave Harry another glance-over and snorted softly before wandering to the edge of the café, coffee and scone in hand.

"Who was _that_?" Ron asked, eyeing Draco as he walked passed.

"Draco Malfoy." Hermione answered before Harry had the chance. Ron looked to her in confusion, and Harry turned to the cash register to put the obtained money in before looking at Hermione in question.

"How'd you know?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"…Ex-boyfriend, unfortunately. We went to High School together." She spat angrily, looking over her shoulder at the boy who had set to work on his laptop.

"Quite the catch _he_ was, 'Mione." Ron stated with a smirk. Hermione shot him a glance that caused his smirk to disappear from his features very quickly.

"Don't worry, Hermione. I won't hold it against you." Hermione nodded a 'thank you' to Harry.

"I'm back – did I miss anything?" Sirius stepped behind the counter and stood beside Harry.

"Just a blast from Hermione's past, sitting in that back corner," Harry rolled his eyes to the left to indicate where Draco was sitting. Nonchalantly, Sirius gazed around the room and his gaze fell on Draco for a mere second before he turned to look at Harry.

"That son of – That's Lucius Malfoy's boy." Harry nodded.

"I know, Dad." Sirius sighed and hung his head.

"That man…" he seethed for a second and looked at Harry, who gave him a confused glance. "…nearly got my business license taken away. Said I was 'illegally running my business'. Had to flash my damn license a good seventy times before he realized the name, ID, and picture were _me_." Sirius snorted. "You watch that one, will ya?"

"I've got him in Psychology with me." Harry muttered. Sirius gaze sank again.

"Watch him, you never know what he's up to." Harry nodded his head again. The jingle of the door caused both Harry and Sirius to snap out of their miniature dazes.

"Well, lets move it lad! We've got customers!"

--

Draco stayed until closing, and bid a very curt yet positively _unnerving_ goodbye to the last four occupants of the small café. He did, however, mention that the coffee and scone were very good – but it was under his breath and Harry just barely heard it before the blond exited.

"What a git," Ron muttered, sipping at his coffee.

"I know, at least you don't have any classes with him." Harry sighed and sipped his own coffee.

"Oh, yes he does. Philosophy, remember? Seamus told me that he had heard from Pansy – before she kicked him out that is – that Draco was taking the same exact Philosophy course as Ron, you and me." Hermione wasn't looking at them. She felt a little awkward bringing up such an oddly obtained bit of information.

"_Blimey_! An entire class with him? Once a week?" Ron was about ready to throw a fit. His ears turned a vibrant red and his eyes flickered with a heavy glaze of fury.

"Ron, calm down! It's a single class, and we only need be there once a week, and Professor Trewlaney is actually very good from what I hear… so…" Ron glanced at her, still a little perturbed by the information he'd just been given.

"Who cares! I'll have to share it with that prat, _Malfoy_!" He ran a nervous, anger-twitching hand through his amber locks.

"Ron, calm down." Sirius told him, and handed him a scone.

"How can I? I'm going to have to see him once a week. You three aren't the _only_ ones that have had to put up with the Malfoys." Sirius's gaze met with Harry's for a moment, then they both turned to look at Ron.

"The Malfoys were the ones that tried to get my father _fired_ from his job."

"Where's your Dad work?" Harry asked curiously.

"With a large organization called the 'Ministry of Ministers'." Harry raised a brow.

"Isn't that like, the Prime Minister's main advocate?" Ron nodded his head.

"My father works in a branch of the Ministry of Ministers that basically revolves around the preservation of London's artifacts. Malfoy considered my father's job unimportant, and ran a campaign to have the entire branch to be removed." Hermione gasped.

"But, the museums!" Ron shot her a glance. "And – and your family…" She gulped down strongly; "What'd your dad do?"

"He went straight to the head of his department – a guy whose name escapes me – and demanded that such a campaign be ignored. Of course, the campaign _was_ ignored, but my father had to be _inspected_ twice a week to make sure he was doing a good job – just incase what Malfoy had said was right!" Harry spat.

"I swear… some people…" Sirius nodded his head in agreement, then gazed at the clock.

"Oh my," he laughed softly. "Look at the time. Ron, you and Hermione should best be on your way." They both nodded and placed a few pounds on the table.

"Don't you _dare_. Take that back _right now_." Sirius demanded, giving the two of them one of his most frightening of glares. They, reluctantly, took the money back and placed it into their pockets.

"Thanks, Sirius. See you tomorrow, Harry. Remember, bright and early, seven o'clock, Philosophy!" Harry groaned.

"How could I forget?" He replied, watching Ron's face twist into a disturbed expression agreeably.

"Oh, dear. Do you see what I'm going to have to put up with every Tuesday?" Sirius snorted and patted Hermione's hand gently.

"Don't worry, there will always be Sirius's little café at the back of London waiting for you when you need to get away," he glanced to the two boys, "Then again, these two have no lives outside of this café, so I'm not sure how much of a reassurance that would be…" At least it made Hermione smile and Sirius was satisfied with that.

"Now, off you two. I need to clean this place up." The two waved their goodbyes, grabbed their coats, and skirted out of the building.

"Ready to clean up, Dad?" Sirius nodded head.

Harry and Sirius had an odd relationship. Ever since Harry's parents had been… well… murdered, Sirius kept Harry under his wing at all times. He grew up with very little friends because Sirius could never manage to keep a good job. Harry never blamed him, of course, for all of the moving around. Oddly enough, once Harry was eighteen, he could collect the fortune his parents had left for him, and immediately invested it in the café – something Sirius had wanted for years.

Since the two had been with each other since before Harry could even bother to attempt to remember, Sirius _was_ Harry's father. Sometimes, though, his distinction between 'Dad' and 'Sirius' would change, depending on his mood. More often than not, he would call Sirius his father. He loved him as such.

The two cleaned up the café, played a little music, talked about their rather uneventful days, then set off to bed.

"Night, kid." Harry leaned to the side to look at Sirius, then, as though by complete impulse, took the man that he was now the same height as into a tight embrace.

"Night Dad," Sirius struggled to hug Harry back and keep back tears at the same time. Sure, he and Harry had lived together all of their lives, but Harry was never much of a physical person. The times they shared in hugs, Sirius cherished, because it simply reminded him that, to Harry, he really did matter – he really did love him like his father – and that's what meant the most to him.

"See you in the morning," Sirius choked steadily, keeping calm. Harry nodded his head and strode into his own room, Sirius's watchful eyes following him. He smiled and went into his own room once Harry had shut the door.

--

"Eventful evening?" Draco Malfoy entered the rather spacious mansion he called him and reached the kitchen in a few short strides, finding his mother at the table within it nibbling on an apple and poring over a rather tattered novel.

"No, just my first Psychology class. Snape was his usual, droning self, of course." Narcissa nodded her head.

"He always was a bit of a drone-y, wasn't he?" She asked absently, nipping at her apple again.

"Yes, yes he was…" Narcissa nodded.

"But, he did manage to help us out." Draco stiffened, remembering how he'd helped them out.

"I realize that, Ma." She stiffened as well.

"Draco, you know what happened was for the best. Can you _not_ admit that life has gotten far better than it was before?" Draco nodded stiffly, and took a seat beside his mother.

"I just wonder sometimes… if maybe, just maybe… he'd changed." Narcissa's hand reached up and rested onto the back of her tall son. She gently ran her fingers through the back of his hair reassuringly.

"I know, honey. I know." Draco clenched his fist, and as he did many times only in front of his mother, he cried.

"Why'd he have to do all this? Why'd he have to _ruin_ our lives?" He paused and looked at his mother, slowly reddening eyes ablaze with rage. "Do you know who I saw today? Today in Psychology, as well as at the book store, and at the café I just came from?" His mother shook her head. "_Harry Potter._" She stiffened and her hand lay to rest on his shoulder.

"And?"

"And I did the _Malfoy_ thing. I was arrogant. I antagonized him. It was plain as day that he was irritated by me. And I also saw Hermione, and Ron Weasley." Narcissa's breathing hitched.

"And?"

"And they didn't forget me, I can assure you that!" He seethed angrily.

"Well…"

"Well, what? Well, there's nothing else we can do now!"

"They must have heard the news by now, it's been nearly three years."

"Yes, but what do I _do_? Even if I wanted to try and act differently toward them, they'd think I was a bi-polar git that should be locked away!" He paused, remembering a pair of striking green eyes. His focus distanced as he remembered Harry's face in his mind.

"You can always _try_, you know." Draco sighed.

"Maybe." Narcissa smiled and kissed her son's forehead.

"Get to bed, sweetie. You have Philosophy tomorrow." He sighed and sank his head onto his mother's shoulder.

"All right, Ma. Night." He kissed her cheek and stood up, ambling upstairs slowly, still not completely over his anger.

Narcissa watched her son depart and felt as though she herself was ready to cry. Why, indeed, had he done such terrible things to cause her family pain? Well, she wouldn't be able to find out any longer, not unless… she chuckled. No, that was impossible. And even if it _were_ possible, she wouldn't want to do it anyway. That would only bring back more than she would want. She sighed, dabbed her eyes with a napkin, placed her bookmark into her book, tossed the core of her apple out, and followed in suit behind her not-long-before departed son.

--

"Up, up, up!" Sirius burst through the door. Harry winced as the older man threw open the blinds.

"_Sirius_…" He muttered warningly, holding up his hand to block out the warm rays that were falling in through Harry's now opened window.

Sirius chuckled. Whenever Harry was bothered, he would call Sirius by his first name like a mother would while scolding a child.

"Get up, child! You'll be late in helping me open the store if you don't. Besides, in two hours you need to be in class."

"Two hours?! You couldn't have let me sleep another hour?" The expression on Sirius's face was priceless. He was smiling fondly down at his godson, holding back laughter, amusement dancing wildly in his eyes. "No, of course not, you're Sirius, the craziest bastard alive…" Harry mumbled absently before swinging his legs over the bed frame and blinking quickly to adjust to the light.

"Yes, yes, crazy, crazy," Sirius mumbled before walking toward the door. "Five minutes, or I come up here with a bucket of ice water," he warned before shutting the door and jogging down the steps to the store. Harry sighed heavily and searched around the room for decent clothing. He didn't want to be hit with a bucket of ice cold water – Sirius enjoyed doing it far to often.

Just in five minutes, he'd managed to make it downstairs and into the café, which was partially ready for customers already. The chairs were down already from the tables, the sofas and comfortable arm chairs were placed placidly around the tables, and the broom was waiting at the end of the counter for Harry.

"Ah, my beloved Nessy, shall we?" He grabbed the broom and began to dance around the empty store with it, humming an unknown tune softly while tiredly sweeping the floor, yawning every so often as he still adjusted to the time.

Sirius stepped out from the kitchen behind the counter and sniggered.

"Glad you're up, and enjoying yourself," he motioned to Nessy. Harry grinned lazily and placed the broom away.

"You're lucky I love you, or else my bum would still be in that bed," Harry muttered tiredly and suppressed another yawn as Sirius put a cup of strong coffee in front of him. He nearly inhaled it.

"Mornin'!" Ron stepped in, followed by Hermione, per-usual.

"Mornin' guys." Harry answered tiredly. Sirius chuckled and ruffled Harry's already very untidy hair.

"Harry, ready for classes?" Ron asked, peering over his shoulder to the very slow moving Hermione who was, also, unusually quiet at the moment.

"As ready as I can be," he muttered, stifling yet another yawn.

"Well, you can get a ride with me and 'Mione." Ron suggested, still looking over his shoulder at the very quiet Hermione. Harry was too tired to notice her lack of enthusiasm, which was rare, despite the early morning hours or lack of caffeine in her system.

Sirius handed both Ron and Hermione strong cups of coffee, then bustled about as more people began to show up.

"Thanks, that'd be great," Harry replied looking to his two best friends, and finally realized that Hermione hadn't said a word. She remained quiet even under the curious gaze of her friends. She simply stared at her coffee until the silence was broken. Ron had just opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius beat him to it.

"You lot better get a move on, or you'll never make it to class." Ron shut his mouth and sighed, aware that the chances of getting anything out of Hermione _before_ class were very slim. He sighed again and Harry watched as Sirius cleared off the counter, then felt a nudge from his godfather to leave.

"All right, all right. I'll be back tonight…" Harry suppressed yet another yawn and followed Ron and Hermione out front to where Ron's beat up, very old caddy was sitting, its dark green paint job needed a fix up as bad as Sirius's motorbike. The three friends hopped into the car and drove in silence.

Harry was attempting to catch a few more minutes of rest, but the minutes seemed like seconds as Ron finally jerked to a stop in the parking lot of the school. Harry muttered a curse softly.

"Arr.." he muttered, very irritated. Hermione was still silent – and oddly so. Harry was beginning to become more aware, and turned to look at her, but she determinedly looked away and down at a book she had in her hand that said 'Philosophy Extracts' on the cover. He remembered that he had one just like it in his room at home – though he'd barely touched it.

"Lets move, we may be late if we don't walk fast." The three continued in silence. Well, Harry and Hermione continued in silence. Ron seemed to be muttering senseless nonsense about his family, his older brothers, his younger sister, anything that came to his mind. Obviously quiet bothered him.

They reached the classroom just in time, and were the among the last few to enter. A scraggly looking teacher with unruly brown hair and thick glasses sat behind her desk. From what Harry could see, her outfit was an odd variety of mismatched clothing and there were many beads strung around her neck.

"Welcome, class." She had a soft voice, a little airy, and a little too quiet for a class the size that it was. "I'm Ms. Trewlaney." She smiled warmly to her students, who seemed slightly appeased by the show of simple affection. "I'm going to take a quick attendance, just let me know you're here, will you?" She seemed to have affirmation from the students as each one answered to their name being called.

--

Draco sank in his seat. He was one of the first few to arrive – and of those first few, he meant the first few to arrive _before_ the teacher. It wasn't until half past six that the woman had entered the room. Draco sank even further into his seat as the time ticked on. His heart sank deep into his stomach as the one person he was trying to create an apology for entered the room. In fact, all three of the people he was trying to create an apology for entered the room.

For a few minutes, as Ms. Trewlaney muttered people's names from the list she had, Draco lost himself in different thoughts.

"Draco Malfoy?" Draco's eyes shot up at his name and he raised his hand limply. She nodded and gave a gentile smile to his general direction. He sighed and scanned the room. The top row held a few people he knew, but no one he was close with. The second to last row was mainly empty, with the exception of four students that were spread across the entirety of the row. The third row was what concerned him the most, for in the middle of it was the object of his thoughts – Harry Potter. Sure, he had Granger beside him, as well as Weasley, but he was thinking _about_ Potter.

"Harry Potter?" Harry's eyes shot up to look at the teacher and Draco followed the boys gaze to the teacher, who gave the same smile to Harry that she'd given him. Draco's eyes turned back to Harry's and their gazes met for a moment.

He didn't know what it was inside of him, but he wanted so terribly to sneer at Harry. The boy had done _nothing_ wrong to him. Except… no. Draco shook his head furiously from side to side and turned his attention back to the teacher, who had now finished with attendance and was, in an uneven, wispy, shaky voice beginning their first lesson.

Finally, after an hour and a half of nervous speech and very few questions, the bell rang and the students hustled out of the room. Draco managed one last glance at Harry as the boy and his friends disappeared down the hallway, obviously badgering the girl of the group about something. Harry peered over his shoulder for a second and noticed Draco's eyes on him. Draco quickly looked away and parted down the hallway in the opposite direction.

'_What **is** this feeling?'_ Draco sat in his car, pondering. Why was he having feelings of intense anger yet inexplicable attraction to Harry Potter? The boy infatuated him – in the oddest of ways! Oh yes, it could be because Harry was one of the best looking people he'd ever seen – and from the other improbable choices, that seemed the most likely – but he also believe it was because the boy was oddly involved in his life. He couldn't hate the boy. He just couldn't. In fact.

'_No! Don't even **think** something like that!'_ Draco shook his head furiously and shoved the key into the ignition. Once the engine roared to life, he pulled the car from the parking lot and soared out, determined to get home and talk with his mother about what he was feeling. Or perhaps Snape could answer a few of his questions? He wasn't sure. Whoever it was he ran into first was the one he was going to talk to. He gripped the steering wheel and sped off down the highway.

--

"_Well?!_" Ron stared at Hermione in anticipation. Hermione's lips were still shut and she motioned to the car. "All right, all right…" The three companions continued to travel in silence. Harry, every so often, would look behind him to see if Draco was still there, following him, looking at him. All throughout the class, Draco had been staring at him. He couldn't help but feel confused. Considering just the day before the boy had taunted him in Snape's class, Harry found it _very_ odd that the boy's mood had changed toward him. In fact, he was appalled at the thought of Draco _staring_ at him.

Or was he.

He mentally smacked himself. Get a grip, Potter! He reminded himself that Draco's father had tried to ruin peoples lives on many occasions. That Draco was, indeed, a Malfoy, and inevitably had the blood of a destined tyrant in him. Still, Harry couldn't shake that maybe, just maybe, Draco _wasn't_ as terrible as everyone made him to be.

"_Well?!_" Ron battered Hermione again with anticipation.

"Well… drive. I'm not telling either of you _anything_ until we can have Sirius present." Ron growled and sped out of the parking lot at top speed, determined to reach the café as quickly as possible.

And so they did, with no help from mid-day traffic. Sirius's warm grin met them as they entered, but melted when he noticed the grim expression's on each of their faces.

"What's happened? Whose died?" He asked severely and turned to pour the coffee.

"Someone you wouldn't expect." Hermione had spoken first for the first time all day.

"What do you mean, Hermione?" He asked, placing the coffee mug in front of Hermione. He then proceeded to give Ron and Harry's there, his gaze barely leaving Hermione – much like Ron and Harry.

"Harry's parents. I read up on something last night – the entire Malfoy conversation had peeked my interest to see where their family was now." Sirius seemed confused. Harry chuckled inwardly, thinking it was about time that he wasn't alone from being confused by Hermione.

"And?"

"And I discovered something… interesting." Sirius nodded his head for her to continue. "Harry's parents were murdered." She stopped at the sigh that escaped Harry's lips. "Yes, I know, you already knew that… but you didn't know by _whom_, did you?" Harry shook his head. "It was by Lucius Malfoy." Harry looked up at Sirius, who was very surely avoiding Harry's gaze. "Lucius was terribly bitter. Lily, Harry's mum, had decided to marry James, just at the same time that Lucius had asked for her hand in marriage." She paused. "He didn't take the idea too well. Of course, he married still. Someone in your family, none the less, Sirius. Narcissa?" Sirius nodded his head.

"But what are you getting at?" Harry asked, still confused. He'd ask about Sirius and the Malfoys after all of Hermione's information came out.

"Well…" Sirius prodded the mug in front of Hermione. She took a shaky swallow.

"Go on," Ron prodded anxiously. Harry shot him a glare and Ron backed down. Apparently giving out this news was hard for Hermione.

"Lucius is dead." Harry gasped.

"_Dead_?" Hermione nodded her head.

"How?" Sirius butted in, wondering for himself how the old coon had been done away with.

"Well, he was obviously caught. By Severus Snape, at that!" Harry's jaw dropped.

"_Say what?!_ My Psychology professor?" Hermione nodded her head.

"Now that's an odd summer job if I ever heard it… catching murderers…" Ron muttered, causing Hermione to shoot him another glare. He simply shrugged.

"He wasn't _always_ a teacher. He used to be a detective. Well," she shook her head, trying to remember exactly what it was that she'd read; "Well, a shrink detective." Harry nodded. "Any who, he knew Lucius. He also knew Lucius to be mentally unstable, despite his many escapades that seemed for good."

"' Escapades for Good?'" Ron questioned.

"Don't ask. Too long. It's besides the point…"

"There's a point?" Ron asked. Hermione glared at him.

"If you don't care to know anymore, you can leave!" Hermione had never really raised her voice to anyone, and watching her temper grow caused Ron to back down.

"Sorry…" He muttered sincerely, and looked taken aback by her demand. He sat himself down and looked down at Hermione again.

"It's all right. It's just, he tried to make your father lose his job, he tried to put Sirius out of business, he killed Harry's parents…" she sighed. "I almost feel bad."

"_Almost_ feel bad?!"

"For Draco, I mean." She sighed again and sipped at her coffee. "I never really took notice of his family when we were dating – he actually kept me away from them. I guess it was because he was scared of them." She shook her head.

"…I still don't understand. Why'd it take so long for him to be caught?" Ron asked curiously.

"Nobody knows, sadly." She sighed and drank the rest of her coffee.

"Thanks, Hermione, for telling me." Harry stood up and took Hermione into a tight hug. She reciprocated and wrapped her arms around his middle. Harry's gaze looked up to Sirius, who seemed utterly ashamed with himself.

"Anything for a friend." She muttered back, and let go of her grip on Harry.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, lips in a straight line as he stared at his godfather.

"…" He sighed. "Dumbledore made me swear I wouldn't say anything until you were ready. Unless you found out otherwise."

"Who the _hell_ is Dumbledore?" Harry asked. Rage was building inside of him.

"…The man that got me out of having to go to jail." Harry watched as Hermione gasped.

"Oh… You mean when my parents were killed?" Sirius nodded. Hermione and Ron both looked up at Harry. "Dad was the first person they suspected of killing my Mum and Dad, because he was their best friend. Jealousy, I guess." Ron nodded numbly.

The clock ticked slowly, and finally a small bell rang.

"It's nearly midnight you two, want to get out of here?" Hermione and Ron nodded, still rather subdued by all of the information they'd soaked up about Harry and the Malfoys. Sirius and Harry watched them leave, and placed their cups into the sink.

"…Harry, I'm sorry." A very, very mute Harry nodded limply to Sirius. Emerald eyes could barely betray the hurt behind them as Sirius sought to meet his godson's gaze.

"So am I." He took in a deep breath to keep back tears. Slowly, cautiously, Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry, who melted into the embrace.

"I wish I could have told you, I swear." Harry nodded against Sirius's shoulder. "It was just, if I did, we didn't know what the outcome would be. Dumbledore was worried for your safety, as was I, and we wanted you to have the best life that you could before you knew."

"I know… I just wish I didn't have to hear about it _after_ the man that killed him was dead." Sirius nodded.

"I know, Harry, I know. And I really am so sorry." He patted Harry's head lovingly.

"I think I'm going to go to bed… I need to rest. I'll be up in time to help open the shop, I don't have classes until Thursday, so I'll be able to help out tomorrow." Sirius nodded and let Harry go. The tall boy wiped away his few tears and turned, immediately walking to his room.

Sirius sighed. So, now Harry knew. He knew everything. Then again, Sirius now knew everything too. How'd he missed such valuable information such as the one concerning Lucius's death? He didn't know.

Draco… Draco Malfoy. Maybe he would be a better man than his father. Maybe he wouldn't make Harry's life a living hell the way Lucius had done to James and Lily. Sirius could only hope so, or else he would be in jail for a liable reason next time.

--

Ok, so it's a little different. I just cooked everything up in my mind – so ignore it if you don't like it. So what, Lucius loved Lily. Who cares? Not me. Next chapter will hopefully be less dreary.

Reviews are Yummy. The more I get, the more I write. So review. And maybe I'll give you a cookie.

**Ta 3 _Masqued_**


	2. Moving Along

**Author**: Masqued

**Rating: **PG-13(To be safe.)

**  
Chapter Summary: **A deeper look into Harry and Draco's pasts. Sirius has an old lover. Draco and Harry have their first snog.

**Title: **When the Wounds Mend

**Apologies: **I want to apologize for the lengthiness of the first chapter. I realize some people are not up to a long read, but I found the information in it necessary to any of the readers of this story for later chapters. Please do forgive me, the chapters following the first are not going to be as long-winded, I promise. Hopefully.

Also, I also will let you know that the… quickness of the previous chapter, as well as this one, are for a reason, because the following chapters are going to be very… slow, to say the least. These past two chapters are more along the lines of the prologue for this story.

**Disclaimer**: Sorry, plots mine, no stealing. All characters are J.K. Rowlings!  Grr. Pretty Malfoy!

--

"Dad, where are we going?" A little boy squirmed under his seatbelt on the left side of his father's automobile, which was smoothly riding down a common street. The boy leaned up to his left and peered out of the window to examine the streets, trees, and pedestrians that were cluttering the sidewalks of the busy neighborhood.

"Son, I have to ask a favor of you." The little boy's father turned to look at his son momentarily before returning his gaze to the road.

The little boy, who now was staring unblinkingly at his father, nodded his head.

"Yeah?" The stern, unflinching expression of the older man caused the little boy to prohibit himself from squirming in his seat and sit up at attention, hoping his father would take him seriously.

"Where we are going today, you are not allowed to tell anyone we've been to, all right?" The little boy nodded his head slowly, then whipped a grin over his features to reassure his father. "Good."

They continued to drive in silence, and the little boy grew restless. Where was his father taking him? Was it a surprise? Maybe it was a new house for his Mother! Oh, that would be _grand_. She would be so _thrilled!_ The small boy could barely contain his excitement. A wide grin continued to grow over his features as he thought of the possibilities of where his father was driving him to.

Finally, the car lurched to a stop in front of a very quaint, tiny house, paling in comparison to the house the little boy lived in. A frown creased on the boy's forehead. Maybe he wasn't here for a house for his mother. Perhaps he was here for something better. He looked to his father, but the older man did not look back. The little boy squirmed in his seat again.

"Lets go." The little boy fumbled with his seatbelt lock, swung open the car door, and hopped out onto the sidewalk.

"_I just want you to take him with you, Honey!' The little boy's mother was staring sternly at his father. "Spend time with him, for goodness-sake!" The boy's father took in a sharp breath._

_"It's business. I can't bring him with him, he'll get in the way." _

Business it was, but not the kind the small boy had been expecting. Apparently his father feared getting in trouble with his mother, and as such, brought the boy toward the house with him.

His father knocked swiftly on the door, still not even bothering to glance at his son.

A beautiful woman came to the door and swung it open. In her hands was a glass that she was drying with a towel, but she dropped it at the sight of the boy's father.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" She questioned, still unable to move. A sneer came across the boy's father's lips.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" He asked in question, a simple expression adorning his features.

"I think you're wasting your time." She bent down to grab the shards of the broken glass into her hands, but was met yet again, face to face with the boy's father.

"I don't." The little boy gasped as his father grabbed the beautiful woman by the shoulders and forced his lips upon her own. She struggled to leave his embrace, but it was fruitless as they were both still kneeling down. The struggle only resulted in her almost tipping over.

"Get – off – me!" She hissed, not allowing herself to return the kiss she was having forced upon her lips. Her teeth remained clenched as he pressed his lips further onto her own.

"Dad…" the little boy was looking at his father in hurt and shock. His father pushed the beautiful woman away from him with a harsh shove and stood up.

"Lily, this is my son, Draco." Lily, as the beautiful woman was now introduced as, stepped back through the doorway of her house and prepared to shut the door.

"Hello, Draco," she managed a warm yet very fake smile to the young Draco Malfoy as he still stood, fidgeting.

"Hello, Ms-"

"_Mrs._ Potter." Draco nodded.

"Hello Mrs. Potter." Apparently Draco's father was not pleased with her title.

"You shouldn't be with this lazy-" Draco's father was cut off.

"Honey! Who's at the door?" The swinging sound of a back, screen door caused Lucius Malfoy to stop speaking and place a façade of happiness on his face.

"Lucius Malfoy, _dear_," she stressed the word 'dear', keeping a strong glare in Lucius's general direction.

"Oh, well, invite him in." The words didn't seem too inviting, yet Lucius gladly accepted and waltzed into the house.

"This way, boy." Draco hopped to and followed his father into the house. Draco was now beginning to realize why his father had made him promise not to say anything to his mother.

"Draco, dear, would you like to watch some TV?" Draco nodded enthusiastically and followed Mrs. Potter into her living room, where she flicked on a small TV and pushed the volume up on a cartoon that was bouncing happily.

Draco was barely attentive. He wanted to know what was being said in the kitchen between his father and the Potters. He was intrigued, to say the least, but knew the consequences of his actions if he chose to sneak in and listen. So, settling himself on the warm, dark green fuzzy couch, Draco allowed himself to _attempt_ finding humor in the tasteless, slapstick comedy shown in the cartoons.

After another fifteen minutes of anxiety, Draco's father stepped quickly out of the kitchen.

"We're leaving." Draco hopped up and went to lean to look into the kitchen, but Lucius grabbed his son's shoulder and pushed the small boy ahead of him to avoid his son's eyes wandering. "Good bye, _Potters_." Lucius seethed gleefully. Draco only half expected a response, partially because he wanted to be reassured that his suspicions weren't true. And of course his suspicions hung heavily in the air with the sudden, cold feeling of death.

There was no reply as the two exited the house and immediately walked into the car. Lucius wasted no time in starting the ignition and making a u-turn to point his car in the opposite direction.

Draco's eyes no longer drifted to look at his father. Instead, they focused on his fingers which were nervously twitching from side to side. Tears, with an unknown cause behind them, built in his tiny gray eyes. He didn't know the Potters. But he liked them. They were sweet. Lily was pretty – she had nice eyes. He hadn't seen much of Mr. Potter, but the way he sounded when he spoke to his wife was kind. He liked the Potters.

Unfortunately, he'd never get to see more of them alive.

--

"Well, class, I must say I'm very impressed with some of the grades I have here." Professor Snape slapped a large wad of essays onto his desk. "But, I must also admit that I am ashamed of some of the grades here." His dark eyes scanned the room, meeting the gaze of few students around the room. "That is no matter – whether you choose to learn is your own decision. If your paper is not what you expected it to be, see me after class."

Harry sank into his chair. He didn't want to know what he got on his essay. Thankfully, he didn't have too much to worry about. Snape hadn't made eye contact with him, which meant he wasn't one of the 'less impressive' grades. Still, he was tense and anxious to meet the grade he hopefully should receive in fairness.

Snape was handing out the papers in alphabetical order, so Harry waited for awhile until his paper was handed to him.

"…Wow." He didn't exactly _realize_ he'd muttered aloud, but with the grade he had received, he didn't much care. A ninety-two! He was surprised. He figured, mathematically speaking, his grade should have been somewhere in the mid-eighties. Harry's eyes drifted from his paper to two seats down where Draco was sitting, looking over his own essay. He seemed rather pleased with himself.

"Now, onto our next assignment. If you had copied down the syllabus correctly, you should have noticed by now that the following assignment due is your first on-the-job type experience. You will have a partner to work with, and you will each take turns using what we've studied so far to distinguish what is going on in the minds of your fellow students. I have chosen who will be working with who. If I hear any complaints about partners, I will make it a point to make your grade harsher than need be." The students around the room nodded, agreeing firmly that they would make no such complaints. "Good." Snape turned to his desk.

_'Ugh, I'm a little worried about who my partner's going to be…'_ Harry thought, turning his eyes from his Professor to his laptop again, readying himself to write down the name of his partner.

"Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott." Harry looked to Neville, who was blushing like mad. Apparently Neville was still a little nervous around females.

"Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter." Both Harry and Draco's heads shot up, their eyes staring at Snape, who's head was still down as he continued on with the list. Harry's eyes drifted to Draco, who had done the same exact thing. Staring at each other for a moment, unsure of what to think, the two swapped looks containing sneers, then looked away.

_'I was right to be worried.'_ Harry sighed and began to type reluctantly against his keyboard. The minutes passed for the entire class period and Harry could only find himself worrying about the outcome of his project.

"Class dismissed." Harry closed his laptop and stood to stretch.

"Well, Potter, looks like we get to work with one another." Harry turned to face Draco Malfoy, who, seemingly, wasted no time whatsoever in coming to talk to Harry about the way their partnering had turned out.

"Looks like it." Harry looked away from Draco and pulled his laptop into his bag.

"Where do you reckon we should meet?" Draco asked nonchalantly, turning his gaze from Harry to his watch as though he had an important place to be.

"We could work at my apartment – the one above the café my Dad owns." Draco looked a little questioning.

"Your… Dad?" Harry looked back at Draco.

"Yeah."

"But…"

"Godfather."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Harry turned back to his bag and was about to stride away.

"Wait, Potter, what time, when?" Harry turned back, gripping his bag strap to momentarily relieve stress.

"Tomorrow night, seven o'clock. We'll start from there." Draco nodded.

"All right Potter, see you then." Without another word, the two parted ways and left the room.

--

"Ready to get home, kiddo?" A young boy bounced happily in his seat.

"You bet!" The man driving the car smiled warmly down to the boy beside him.

"Bet you can't wait to show your Mum and Dad what you got, can you?" The boy bounced around happily still.

"No, I can't! They'll love it!" He, if he were able to, could skip around the car his legs were kicking so much. The older man beside him let out a long chuckle and turned his attention back to the road. A car zoomed passed him going in the opposite direction and he couldn't help but think the man driving it seemed vaguely familiar. He refused to think about it.

"Well, we're here, kid!" The young boy quickly pulled off his seatbelt and threw open the car door, unable to control his joy. He raced to the front door of the house and pushed it open. The man that had driven him back was following at a slow pace, but was a little perturbed by the fact that the door open far to easily.

A long, shrill scream let out through the air. The man ran down the corridor toward the kitchen. The sight that met him was horrendous. Two bodies lay on the floor, one with a knife in the chest, the other with the knife through the left temple. On the floor beside the two, against the refrigerator, was the young boy, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Harry!" The man leapt forward and grabbed Harry into his arms and let the boy cry his uncontrollable tears. "Shhh, Harry, shhh." Harry continued to sob into the older man's embrace, shuddering fiercely.

The man looked to the two dead bodies. The two hands of the bodies were locked together at the fingers. A gash in the woman's head suggested that she'd fallen from her chair and hit it on the chair's leg. The knives were poking out from the opposite sides of where they'd been planted. Blood was oozing freely out of the temple of the man and blood soaked the shirt of the woman.

"M-Mum… Dad…" Harry was unable to function properly and was unable to expel words from his mouth other than 'mum' and 'dad'. The man was still attempting to calm the boy.

Yet, while trying to keep this boy calm, he was barely able to grip solemn hopes on his own. There they lay, his two best friends, motionless, eyes glazed over, the scent of death filling the room. Sirius didn't want to believe that that was actually them on the ground, that he was actually staring at their blank expressions, that he was actually holding a boy that was now orphaned. No, it was impossible.

But wait. It couldn't be impossible until he could rant about it. For now, it had to be as possible as it could be so Sirius could make himself strong enough for the little boy in his arms.

"It's going to be ok, Harry…" He hugged the boy tightly.

_'That man… who was that man…'_ Sirius was digging deeply into his mind, hoping desperately for something to form. Who was the man he'd seen while he was driving to the Potter's house? It was someone familiar… someone they all knew… someone that was driving rather _fast_…

Sirius snapped inwardly and sat up erect, yet still holding onto the boy in his arms.

Lucius Malfoy.

--

"What? A project with that _git_? God bless you, mate." Ron shook his head and pulled his cup of coffee to his lips.

"Oh, Ron, give the boy a break. He's dealing with enough as it is, seeing as he has to see the boy tomorrow night to start the thing." Hermione snapped.

"Thanks, 'Mione. I needed the support." Harry muttered sincerely. Hermione nodded her head encouragingly and then grabbed her coffee, sipping at as she read through her newspaper.

"…We didn't have work for tomorrow, did we?" Harry snorted and looked to Ron as he peered between his two best friends.

"Maybe," Hermione stated.

"Maybe not." Harry added. They smirked at each other and turned their attention to Ron, who was utterly confused. He was ready to ask if they'd planned that moment, but was cut short by a short-tempered Sirius as he entered from the back of the store.

"Hey, Dad, what's wrong?" Sirius's gaze shot up from the torn bag he was carrying to his godson's eyes.

"Ah, nothin'." Sirius tossed the bag into the garbage and turned back into the café's back room. All three of the nineteen year olds jumped for the garbage can, Harry being the first to reach it, and pulled out the torn bag.

Immediately they inspected the bag, but found nothing of severe importance in it. Just a few ripped up pieces of paper. After a short examination, Hermione grabbed the bag and laid it down flat.

"Padfoot and Moony?" She looked at the cursive writing on the front of the bag, her eyebrows reaching to the middle of her forehead in confusion. Harry couldn't believe he'd missed something as obvious as the bag.

"Padfoot was my Dad's nickname back in high school. Moony was his best friend…" He looked down at the bag. A few things beneath the words were extremely deluded and it was impossible to determine what it was it had said before it had been torn. There was a shuffling in the back of the store and the three nervously shoved the bag back into the garbage.

"Harry… about your Dad… is he…?" Hermione was having a hard time coming out with the question. Ron looked on with mild interest, but more so with confusion to what Hermione could possibly want to know.

"Gay?" Hermione's face flushed a heavy red color. She nodded her head without making eye contact. Harry smirked.

"Yeah, he is." She sighed and looked back at the bag.

"And Moony?" Harry began to absently wipe down the counter as to make it seem he was doing something more than just talking about his Dad's love life.

"His best friend, but apparently ex-lover as well. He never talks about him – I never met him." Hermione nodded her head.

"Do you know his _full_ name by any chance?" Harry's right eyebrow rose in interest.

"Actually… I do. Dad told me once, said he was mad at Remus Lupin." Hermione nodded her head, then she snapped her gaze to Harry with a sudden look of shock.

"Remus Lupin? _The_ Remus Lupin?" Harry's eyes rolled from side to side in his head as he suggested that he hadn't a clue of whom it was she was talking about.

"He's a famous explorer! He was the man that found a few of the artifacts in the museums!" She yelped wildly, aware now that she virtually knew someone that was famous and extremely intellectual.

"Well, that's odd. Dad never mentioned that." Ron wasn't listening anymore. Once Hermione had burst on about him being a man that worked in the museum and exploring business, he'd lost interest. Harry, though, was intrigued.

"Hey, Hermione…" She looked up at him with question; "I've got an idea." He leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"Oh – oh my! That's – that's scandalous!" She smiled widely. It was an amazing idea. A rather interesting one that would hopefully prove to work out correctly. It was devious plan and Hermione and Harry found themselves to be little vixens, keeping the idea in the back of their minds.

--

"You're late." Draco shook his hair dry and looked up to Harry who was sitting on the couch in the living area of his father's small apartment. Draco looked around the room, at the small size, and had to keep himself from sneering at the slight mess of clothes that were flung around the different chairs. Harry hopped up to clear off one of his father's shirts from a chair and tossed it to the floor so Draco could sit.

"All right, how do you propose we start?" Harry looked from Draco to the bag he'd brought, which he figured was holding his laptop.

"Well, since we have to believe we're psychologists, we should start the way Snape told us to." Draco nodded.

"Well, Potter, should I try and see if there's anything important in your mind?" Harry shot Draco a harsh glance.

"Fine, if you keep your _snide_ comments to yourself." Draco sighed.

"Oh, just take all of the fun out of this for me, why don't you." Harry shot him another glare, but Draco ignored it, busying himself with his reading glasses and his laptop, which was up and ready and sitting on the coffee table beside him.

"All right, well, lets start with something simple. Full name."

"Harry James Potter."

There was a few typing sounds.

"Good. Age?"

"Nineteen."

More typing noises.

"Birth month?"

"July."

Yet more typing noises. A few more personal questions went underway, and then Draco decided to ask something a little more challenging then factual knowledge.

"What's your best memory?"

"The day I gave my Dad money to open this café."

"What's your funniest memory?" Harry snorted for a second.

"When Ron decided that all of the windows were dirty and decided to try and wash them with coffee. Mind you, he was drunk to the point of blindness." Draco rolled his eyes and moved on, typing a little more on his computer.

"Who's your idol?"

"Sirius, my godfather and Dad." Draco wasn't surprised – they seemed like that kind of family.

"What is your first memory, chronologically?" Harry froze and wasn't ready to tell the truth.

"I was four and my godfather and I were playing Frisbee." It came out fast, and far to jumpy – even for Draco.

"Try again."

"What was that?"

"I said try again. Earliest memory. You have to be truthful – nothing that goes on here is going to be given out." Harry took in a deep breath, realizing he would have to trust Malfoy for the time being.

"…Fine. I was three and my real father, James Potter, was making eggs. My Mum was sitting at the table eating her porridge." He paused and took in a sharp breath, causing Draco to pay attention better. "She smiled at me with this big, warm smile, and he poked me in the stomach with a plastic spoon and put a plate of eggs in front of me. That's it." He sighs.

"Who do you have eminent hatred for?" Harry tensed. He didn't want to answer that question – Draco was plucking all the right strings in his mind and heart. "Potter?"

"I don't want to say." Draco tensed up as well, but remained firm, looking at Harry sternly.

"Potter…"

"You're father, damn it! Happy?" Draco was taken slightly aback, leaning against his chair in utter surprise. Draco, very slowly, typed down Harry's answer.

"And why's that?" Draco needn't to ask, he knew the answer, but he was no longer pretending. He wanted to work through Harry's mind.

"Because. Because he… he murdered my Mum and Dad." Draco bit back his tongue.

"I'm sorry…" He averted his gaze back to his laptop.

"Yeah, well, it happens." Harry was unable to contain his anger. He was now angry at Draco, because Draco was pulling at Harry's mind. He couldn't stand it. Why did he have to pry? He wasn't really his psychologist. He didn't need to be working so horribly into his mind… he needed to leave Harry _alone_ and search somewhere else.

"You obviously have tension when it comes to your past."

"I wonder why." Harry shot Draco a look to accompany his words.

"Don't look at me like that, Potter. I'm not my father. I didn't do it."

"Yes, well, you haven't done much to make me feel like you're any different." Draco glared extremely long at Harry.

"So now you think I'm my father? Well let me get something out into the open, Harry." It was the first time Draco had actually said Harry's name. His first name. Harry was taken aback, and his mouth was ajar in surprise. He was unable to respond and found himself hanging onto what Draco was staying.

Draco had, by now abandoned his computer and was standing, glasses hanging off his nose, eyes burning with rage, fists hanging at his sides. He wanted to shout at Harry – tell Harry that he wasn't the only one that went through anger that day. That he wasn't the only person to have to endure fifteen long years of pain because of one man's mistake.

"Harry, I was there. I saw him. I was with him. He was forced to take me with him to wherever he was going that day. My mum told him to. So he did. I was watching TV in your house, cartoons. My dad had tried to kiss your mum… she wasn't having it. Your dad came in. My dad _loved_ your mum. He always had. I didn't realize it, but that was the only reason I was with him that day – because he wanted me to see that my mum wasn't the one he loved. That me being his child wasn't who he wanted as his child." He shot a glare at Harry. "He always wanted _you_ as a kid. You were the perfect kid to him. You were brought forth through Lily Evans's womb, and that made you special. I was his son, and he could barely look me in the eye. Not _once_ did he say he loved me. Not. Once."

Harry was staring unbelievingly at the boy in front of him. Draco's hair was astray over his face in disarray, gray eyes flickering in anger. Harry never knew. Harry couldn't have known. Harry wouldn't have known.

"Well, for your information, because of your father, my mum was always scared! She couldn't very well go to the supermarket because she was afraid of him showing up! I'd seen your father on numerous occasions while we were in the store. He looked at me with envy – probably because of my resemblance of my father." Harry's eyes sank. "You may have not had love from your dad, but I was never given the chance to find out of I could be loved by mine."

There it was. Draco was done for. So was Harry. Mortal enemies, in tears during their first session in a project for Snape's class. Draco sank into his chair and hung his head.

"I – I should go." Draco grabbed his laptop and placed it into his bag, then grabbed his coat. Harry watched him in shock for a second, then followed the boy as he jogged out of the room.

Before he knew what he was doing, he followed him.

"Draco!" Draco refused to stop walking. It was _pouring_. The rain was hitting against the two bodies. They were the only two on the street at the moment. Ignoring it, Harry sped up to reach Draco before he reached his car.

"Draco, Draco stop." He didn't need to tell the blond to stop. He was having the hardest time finding the right key to unlock the car door. Harry grabbed his unsteady head and his green eyes were immediately met with Draco's tear-cluttered gray orbs. "Draco, I'm sorry." He was nearly shouting over the rain.

"So am I, Harry." In the unlikely moment of rain, the two embraced. They were clinging to one another, rain plummeting around them, soaking through their clothes. Harry ran his finger over Draco's cheek and the blond turned his head to look at him.

Without warning, and in a heat of passion that could only be described as love, Harry grabbed the back of Draco's head and closed the space between them in lustful kiss. Draco was taken aback, but given the position he was in, he was unable to do nothing but participate. Against the freezing air and the ice rain, the warmth of the kiss melted through their soaked clothing and brought them to a warmer position against one another. Harry's tongue dipped from his own mouth and reached over Draco's bottom lip, requesting entry, and with a moan, Draco's lips parted, giving Harry's tongue the relief it needed to enter Draco's oral cavern. Grasping the taller brunette's midriff, Draco plunged his own tongue into Harry's mouth as the two fought an oral battle.

Finally, because of lack of air, the two parted, gasping for breath and obviously light headed.

"What – just – happened?" Harry murmured between breaths, hands still behind Draco's head. Draco leaned forward and rested his forehead against Harry's.

"I don't know, but sure as hell felt good." Harry smirked and leaned in again for another long snog with beautiful blond in his arms. Draco allowed it with less resistance. He was trying to figure out just what it was that was swarming through his thoughts.

"Mmm – Harry." Draco pulled himself from the brunette's embrace, receiving a hurt expression from the taller. "Harry, I – We shouldn't do this. We're both vulnerable. We're both unable to control ourselves. I-" Harry's breathing hitched, but he remained calm.

"You're right… I'm sorry." With that, Harry's eyes averted from the blond he was standing in front of and he found himself walking away.

"So am I," Draco muttered beneath his breath, still in a heat of passion. He pulled open his car door, slammed it after him, and was down the street in no time.

--

"What?!" Hermione prodded the soaking Harry with her spoon. "Repeat that?"

"We snogged." Harry said, pulling his towel over his head.

"And?"

"And _what_?"

"And what happened?!" Harry sighed.

"Nothing. He told me we were both too vulnerable after the fight we'd had about our pasts." Harry sighed and continued to dry his hair.

"Oh…" Harry nodded.

"Ok, Harry, I would more than anything love to support you but… Malfoy?" Hermione shot Ron a harsh glare. "Sorry! It's just a surprise!" Harry sighed.

"It's ok Ron, it's a surprise to me too. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I didn't really want it…" Hermione slapped him in the back of the head.

"Harry James Potter, don't you even _think_ that! There was a reason for what happened – even if you don't want to agree with it."

"I guess you're right. But, enough about me. Had any ideas for how to get a hold of Lupin?" Hermione's expression changed, her eyes warmed up and her smile lifted to her cheekbones.

"I've already got his number! Now, all we need to do is time it. Plan it perfectly. You'll see, it'll be _great_." Harry nodded his head.

"I know. Thanks, because I probably wouldn't be able to do it on my own. Operation Lover's Storm is a go, Cap'n!" Hermione grinned to her best friends and sank down into her chair.

"Yes, yes it is."

--

See? Not as long as the first one. But still sort of long. Sorry loves. Oh, if anyone out there is a good beta-reader, I could use one! It'd be must appreciated, thank you!  Well, I'm off loves!

Remember. Reviews are yummy. I like reviews.

Ta 3 **_Masqued_**


	3. Turn Your Love Around

**Author: **Masqued.

**Title: **When the Wounds Mend

**Summary: **

**Rating: **PG-13.

**Disclaimer: **Bah humbug. I do not, in anyway, shape, or form own the characters. JK owns all of it, including the dreamy Draco Malfoy, making it impossible for me to own him. Bah! But, this story is mine, so please, no stealing? Thank you.

**Warning:** This fic has a song in it. You have been warned.

--

**When the Wounds Mend**

_Chapter Three: Turn Your Love Around_

--

"You're _joking_!" Ron quipped sarcastically to the frizzy-haired girl that was slumped in her stride in front of him. "I would _never _have guessed such a thing was possible." Hermione, determined to ignore the pompous jerk that was blabbering about her most recent mistake, sauntered from the coat rack and directly to a chair at the counter.

"Harry, can you get me a cup of tea, a scone, and a sledge hammer?" Harry, lips tweaking in mild amusement, nodded his head and poured a cup of tea for his best friend.

Ron, having finally placed his coat onto the coat rack, leaned over Hermione's hair and turned his lips directly to her ear.

"Told you," he smirked and took the seat beside her. Of course, what he'd said awarded him with a swift swat to his arm. "Hey, what was that for?"

Hermione shot him a glare and the red-head immediately shut down his hyperactivity, newly founded by his best friend's inevitable mistake.

"So, does Harry get to find out what happened?" Harry placed down Hermione's tea cup and leaned over the counter in interest, awaiting one of his friends to answer.

"Seamus," Hermione stated after an elongated sigh. Harry nodded his head knowingly.

"Guess what he tried to do on their date last night." Ron chided innocently before shoving half a scone into his mouth.

"Oh, tried to get into your knickers, did he?" Hermione, having taken to a staring contest with her steaming water, let out another distracted and irritated sigh.

"Yes, yes! All right? We all now realize that Hermione made a mistake. Lets all bugger off so she can enjoy her hot tea, scone, and hope for better decision making in the future." Raising her cup, she toasted to herself before downing nearly half of the hot liquid.

"Ron, you twit, you've upset her." Ron held his hands up in defense.

"She was the one that gave me the details about the date." Harry turned his eyes back to Hermione.

"I know, I know… bad move," she stated, snaking her fingers around a scone. Harry shook his head and turned to get Ron a cup of coffee, nearly smacking into Sirius.

"Oh, sorry pop," Harry skirted around his Godfather and to the coffee pot.

"So, Hermione, 'said you needed to talk to me?" Sirius leaned over the counter to look at the brunette in front of him.

"Yes, if it isn't too much trouble… I just wanted to know what happened between you and Remus Lupin." Hermione Granger – straight to the point on anything, even if it makes everyone in the room uncomfortable. A smirk flitted across Sirius' lips as he looked at the completely serious girl in front of him.

Of course, directly next to her, Ron was choking on the other half of his scone in bewilderment.

"'Mione!" He belted in surprise after regaining composure. This fueled a soft chuckle that Sirius let slip from his lips.

"No, no, it's all right." His lips curled again as he let out another chuckle before leaning his back against an inactive coffee maker. "Remus 'n me, huh? Well, where to begin. We met in high school, along with Harry's folks. It was like a little crew we had. We were good kids, smart, but cunning and very mischievous in our little ways. We reeked a great deal of havoc in that school," he paused to let out a mild laugh; "great deal of havoc… and ole' Moony was always the one to simply disagree with our chaotic ideas. Of course, he was nearly always the one that forced us to go through with it by the end of it all…"

--

"Come _on_, Moony! Please?" A young, longer-haired Sirius whined, clinging to his best friend's arm.

"No. We have our _finals_ this week, you git!" Sirius refused to release Remus' arm, his lips curtly floating down to a strong, and puppy dog pout. Nearby, James was laughing hysterically at his best friend's inability to encourage Remus into their newest villainous scheme.

"Oy, come on Moony! It's just a little prank…" Sirius whimpered, dropping to his knees; "You can just be the driver of the getaway car!" Remus kneaded his temples in a hopeful chance of resistance to his best friend's persistent banter.

"I'm _always_ the getaway driver. Or, proposed to be such. Then I'm the guy that forces you out of the car so you actually do your dastardly deed." Remus had a _very_ good point. That was always the truthful detail of all of their little escapades.

"Prongs, give me some help here!" Sirius looked to his bawling best friend.

"No deal Pads, your own your _own_ with this one." Sirius glared at his best friend in disdain.

"Mooooon-y!" Remus sighed.

"_Fine_. Let's go and get this done with. And don't either of you gits chicken out at the last minute." Sirius nodded and took his two friends by the arms and immediately skipped out of the garage they'd taken homage in.

--

Hermione smirked warmly.

"Remus and I would have a great deal to talk about," she chirped, glaring daggers at Ron and Harry, who instinctively turned to each other and struck up a conversation about sponges to give the effect that they hadn't been eavesdropping the entire time.

"Well, yes, I think that's where this little prat gets it from," Sirius ruffled Harry's hair, receiving a swat to his hand in the process. "Well, Moony and I were caught in a bind once… literally. James was determined to keep us away from his date with Lily, hoping to actually have a real date with the girl of his dreams. Of course, in the friendliest way, Remus and I declared that we would accompany him and Lily on their date, just too unsure that she wouldn't find James to be a total twit, which he was when he wasn't with us." He paused, smirking. "Of course, ole' Prongsy wasn't too keen on the idea, and so, he took to binding Remus and I in the garage – with multiple locks on the garage door as well as on the windows…"

--

"Prongs! This isn't fair! You're locking me in with the human encyclopedia!" Sirius, as per usual, complained rather loudly to his best friend that was standing on the opposite side of the garage door.

"I'm sure you'll be just _fine_, Pads. And say you're sorry, I'm sure you just hurt poor Moony's feelings." Sirius, realizing that he'd made a quick sarcastic remark about his best friend without registering the fact that he did indeed have feelings, turned his attention back to Remus.

"Sorry Moony, didn't mean any harm," came a very soft reply. Remus chuckled and clapped his hand onto Sirius' back.

"No harm done." Sirius smiled and flopped onto the couch in the garage, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, this will be a wonderful adventure, huh?" Remus chuckled again and slid down onto the opposite end of the couch, leaning his back against the cushion.

Now, it wasn't that Sirius didn't enjoy Remus' company. He loved his best friend very much. It was just the unbearable and unexplainable attraction to his best friend that he didn't enjoy, as it was beginning to get harder and harder to even sit beside the lithe, brunette male. Even with just his heels resting on the unaware male's thighs gave Sirius' body a surge of something he wasn't quite sure he wanted to square with just yet.

Guys weren't supposed to be attracted to guys – let alone love them.

Sirius' thoughts jolted to a halt.

Love?

_Love._

'I… no. I can't! That's… do I?' Sirius' befuddled thoughts transferred to his expression, gaining a smirking Remus' stare.

"What's on your mind, Sirius? Thinking of another way to terrorize that old cat lady on Third?" Sirius' expression betrayed no emotion but completely clouded and distant confusion. "Padfoot?" Sirius still had yet to come out of his thoughts. Remus was beginning to say his name in a sing-song voice in attempt to get Sirius back to reality. It wasn't until Remus was leaning his face over Sirius' that the dark-haired male realized he'd been spoken to.

"Huh?" His eyes turned up to the face inches from his eyes, butterflies soaring to his stomach as Remus' smile-lit eyes scanned over his best friend's face.

"Where'd you go? I thought I'd finally lost you to your own world." Remus' cheeky grin gave Sirius the urge to wipe it off his lips… with his own. "Sirius, wake up. What's on your mind?" Remus' face was _still_ dangerously close to Sirius.

Defeated, Sirius let out a soft sigh.

"This," and with that soft utterance of an explanation, Sirius shot his head up and slammed his lips against Remus'.

Surprise would be an understatement to what Remus was feeling when his lips collided with Sirius'. Emotions going haywire would be a measly example to what was surging through their bodies as they both fought to make the kiss as intimate as possible – including tongues, hands, and soft moans.

For a split second, the two broke to breathe.

"Sirius-" was all that was muttered from Remus' lips before Sirius attacked Remus' lips again, taking the opportunity to slide his tongue into the warm cavern. Remus, not allowing Sirius to best him, eagerly fought back.

Again, they broke apart.

"Sirius, wait." Sirius, sighing, slid back up against the arm of the couch, looking at the brunette that had settled on Sirius' hips.

"Remus, I'm sorry. It's just that, you were on my mind so much, and I didn't think I'd ever have a more perfect chance, and since I figured you would be too receptive to me loving you, I-"

"What?" Sirius paused.

"I said it was the perfect chance to--"

"No, after that. About loving me." Sirius' face submerged to a must unusual blush.

"Yeah, about that… while I was just sitting here, thinking about it… I realized I loved you." Remus' lips curled hurriedly to a smile before he slammed his lips to Sirius' shocked lips. The heated kiss began and ended so fast, Sirius was still wearing a bemused smile over his lips. "Well?"

"I love you too, Pads."

--

Hermione's tear-filled eyes glimmered as she rested her chin her hands and stared at Sirius.

"That's so romantic," she muttered wistfully, smiling. Sirius smirked.

"That's what Remus said." He chuckled again. "Well, anyway, he and I dated for five years… we graduated high school the year after we started dating, then went to college together. Near the end of college, though, I broke it off with him." Hermione's ears perked up at the disappointing news.

"But… why?" Sirius waved his hand to brush the matter aside.

"I loved him too much to hold him down like the lazy bum I was. I wanted to open this coffee shop, maybe take a few night courses in Literature… he wanted to be a traveler, and wanted to be together forever. Now, don't get me wrong… I'm not afraid of commitment. That's not the case at all. I simply did _not_ want to limit his chances of being completely happy with whoever he could be with… because I knew there was no way I was the best for him." Sirius shrugged his shoulders lamely. "So I walked out, determined to make sure I didn't hold him down anymore." Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"What? You've got to be kidding. Didn't you ever take into consideration that he may have loved you enough to stay with you? Maybe that perfect person for him was you! For all you know, he could have planned his life around being with you – and now he could probably be the most miserable person alive." Sirius, taking her outrage as young frustration and misunderstandings, shook his head with a weak smirk on his lips again.

"Well, we'll never know, will we?" With that, he waved his hand to dismiss the matter all together, and sauntered off to help a nearby customer.

"See? He's still in love with him." Harry pointed out. Hermione, having never doubted the subject, sighed and leaned against the back of her chair in defeat.

"Well, what are we going to do? Remus is miserable with himself. He hates that he hasn't been with Sirius for over sixteen years, and hates even more that neither of them have tried to contact one another…" Hermione's frustration was taken out on the counter, which she slammed angrily with her fist.

"You could get them to meet up in person, somehow," said Ron vaguely from behind his mug and plate. "That way, they could… you know… talk." Hermione, having completely forgotten her eminent hatred of the red-head, flung her arms around the boy's neck and smothered his face with kisses.

"Ron! You're a genius!" Ron, who was now blushing immensely, barely managed a few squeaks of approval and gratitude. His eyes shifted from the girl clinging to him to Harry.

"Don't look at me, I'm not kissing you." Ron shot him a deadpan look. "Well, all right, so we get them together. But we can't guarantee that they would talk at such a meeting." Hermione, who had finally pried herself off of Ron, sighed and slumped back into her chair.

"No… we can't." Ron sipped his coffee before speaking up again.

"There's a karaoke bar right near here… it's going to be Christmas soon, and they have a special night for couples to come and admit just how much they love each other through corny and sappy songs." Having received odd looks from his best friends, Ron held his hands up in defense. "My Mum and Dad go every year. They even dragged me once, because no one else agreed to be there to drive them home." Harry chuckled.

"Sounds like something they'd do," he admitted, before leaning on the counter.

"You know, Ron… I have to admit. Your chunk full of useless information is actually very handy…" Hermione smiled and patted Ron's shoulder.

"Thanks! …Wait!" Hermione and Harry simply looked to one another and smiled again.

--

"No. He doesn't love me anymore. Where's the point in even trying?" Remus Lupin was sitting, unnerved, on the bed in his hotel room.

"You've come this far! Why not just go through with it." Remus seemed defeated as the girl in front of him had the ability to instill in him a type of courage he was unaware of.

"How'd you get up here, anyway?" Remus asked, amused at Hermione's showing up at his door.

"Well… Let's just say, the clerk at the front desk thinks you're a very lucky man right now." Which, indeed the clerk had stated before Hermione had walked up the steps to the room that he'd stated was Remus'. Of course, he'd instantly thought that if a relatively pretty, young girl was walking up to a middle-aged, wealthy man's room that her intentions were not to force him to go to a karaoke bar and sing to his ex-lover.

Remus smirked.

"All right, well, tell me the plan…"

Hermione smiled and happily obliged.

--

Now, you may be wondering, where was Draco Malfoy in this whole mess? Had he fallen off the face of the earth? Had he disappeared? Well, not precisely – but he had managed to avoid Harry at all costs after their project had been finished and handed in, awarding both of them with high nineties.

Lounging in a small breakfast nook in his mother's home, Draco pondered the very existence that was Harry Potter. He wasn't a person, or a creature – he was entity, all to himself. An entity that lingered fruitlessly in Draco's mind, as he wasn't going to bother to start anything with him. They'd kissed, they'd embraced, and that was all. There was nothing more between but pure lust and infatuation, which he had concluded was beginning to subside.

But then why was the boy stuck in his head?

Draco sighed and resumed his thoughts back to the day that he and Potter had embraced near his car. Thankfully, though, there was an interruption in Draco's thoughts.

"Draco – dear, can you help me with this?" Narcissa Malfoy was hauling a large potted plant into the breakfast nook in an old and rusting radio flyer. Draco slid down from his seat and aided his mother in placing the tall, flowing plant to a resting place in a corner of the room.

"Mother, what is this?" Draco's eyes scanned the plants form.

"It's a plant, Draco dear." Draco rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Mother, I'm well aware of it. What _kind_ of plant. And better yet, why on earth do you have it?" Narcissa smiled warmly.

"Well, I have every intention of keeping it and watch it thrive under my care." With that, the lithe female strode out of the room, humming. Draco sighed and hung his head.

"First I sit thinking about Potter, now mother has begun a lifestyle of gardening… has the entire world gone mad, or is just this household?" Sighing again, Draco resumed his spot at the counter in the breakfast nook. "Well… the plant seems all right… who knows; maybe Potter and I can make it work like my mother and this stupid thing." Draco lazily gazed at the thriving plant. "Huh, maybe…"

--

"Harry… where on earth are you taking me?" Sirius, following his godson to wherever he was leading like a blind man, questioned for the fiftieth time the whereabouts of their destination.

"I told you, Dad, it's a _surprise_. Now shut up and just follow me." Sirius, admitting his own defeat, scanned the area they were traversing through and tried to catch a common landmark to clue him in to where they were off to. Nothing, unfortunately, gave him any idea of where he was being led to.

"We're here!" Harry stopped right in front of 'Estelle's Karaoke Bar', the name lit up by golden light bulbs, a sign beside the door imploring all couples to come that night to relieve their inability to express their love with the use of songs. Sirius, utterly confused, blindly followed Harry into the small bar, was raising an eyebrow at his godson again.

"Ok… this is… nice…" The entire bar was decked out in red and green and the soft murmur of people's hushed voices were heard around the bar. Candlelit tables held only two people each, and Sirius was even more lost. "What now?" Harry pointed vaguely to a reserved table, where a rose sat beneath a note. Sighing, Sirius glared at his godson one last time before making his way to the table in the middle of the room, and then picked up the note.

_Sirius,_

_I haven't the slightest of clues on how to start this. I never thought I'd be doing, in all truthfulness. Bit, I figured… if I don't ever do this, I'd never know if what we had was truly meant to be… or if you were right to leave. Of course, I've never thought you were right in your reason for leaving… and it took me forever to convince myself that it was a misunderstanding that I shouldn't have let happen._

_Sirius, I love you. I always have, I always will, and there is nothing on this planet that could make me stop._

_Look up._

Sirius' gaze drifted to the front of the room where Remus Lupin was standing, nervously, at a microphone, his absent hand fiddling with a few loose strands of his hair that fell to his eyes. Music swiftly flew through the speakers, and Remus opened his lips to begin to sing.

"You've got the love  
You've got the power  
But you just don't understand

Man, you've been charging by the hour  
For your love."

Sirius couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at Remus on the stage in front of him. Was Remus Lupin, singing a love song, to him?

"I'm tryin' to show how much I love you  
Still believe in romance  
You're taking way too many chances  
With my love."

Sirius hid his face; yes, Remus Lupin was indeed singing a love song to him.

"I remember  
When you used to be  
The talk of the town  
All you get is lonely.

"Turn your love around  
Don't you turn me down  
I can show you how  
Turn your love around."

Harry, outrageously amused at Remus' singing and Sirius' blushing, stood against the back wall with Ron, who was humming along to the song he'd picked out for Remus to sing. Harry had already congratulated Ron for his amazing and cunning ability to play a relatively good role in his Godfather's love life, but he would have to thank him for the love choice in song. It was far more humorous and adorable to watch with the song he was singing.

"Without the woman I can make it  
But I need the man to stay  
Oh, don't you let the lady take it  
Away  
When all I need's a taste of yesterday  
But you stay at home  
All they get is lonely

"Turn your love around  
Don't you turn me down  
I can show you how  
Turn your love around."

Remus was actually getting comfortable with singing in front of his ex-lover, as the crowd of people were rather happy with the song choice. They also enjoyed the way Sirius was blushing like a mad-man. Yes, it was one of the few times in life that Remus Lupin, or anyone for that matter, had made Sirius Black blush deeply.

"Oh boy you know me  
I'm alone until you show me  
That you're still in love with me  
We're gonna make it  
We're gonna take it  
Back where we belong."

For some reason, Sirius' conversation with Hermione seemed to ring a bell in his head, and he immediately shot a glare at his godson, who was smiling and wagging his fingers to the music with Ron. Well, at least he knew whose doing it was.

"Turn your love around  
Don't you turn me down  
I can show you how  
Turn your love around

"Turn your love around  
This time the boy became a man  
Don't you turn me down  
Everyone needs a someone  
I can show you how  
I love the boy, I love the man  
Turn your love around."

What he wanted to know, was how on earth they had instilled in Remus enough courage to, not only stand up in front of _him_ and sing a love song, but also to stand in front of people in _public _and profess his adoration for him. Sirius chuckled and winked to the brunette on stage, receiving a grin in return.

"Turn your love around  
This time the boy became a man  
Don't you turn me down  
Everyone needs a someone  
I can show you how  
I love the boy, I love the man  
Turn your love around

"Turn your love around  
This time the boy became a man  
Don't you turn me down  
Everyone needs a someone  
I can show you how."

The song faded out and Remus handed the microphone back to the presumed Estelle, who was smiling and clapping along with the rest of the crowd that had at that point stood to their feet. Ambling down from the stage, Remus stood in front of a standing, grinning, and clapping Sirius.

"I didn't know you could sing," he stated, his grin widening.

"I didn't know you'd like it," Remus muttered back before the two embraced in a heartfelt, make-up kiss. And make-up as in it made up for over sixteen years of separation. Whoops of approval and an array of 'Hurrahs!' were heard throughout the crowd as Sirius dipped Remus in his arms and then let the breathless man up from their kiss. Harry and Ron looked to each other and saluted Remus, who was the only one of the two that was facing them, and then made their way out of the bar.

"Pads, I love you," Remus muttered through Sirius' hair.

"I love you too, Moony… more than you know. And I'm sorry for walking out on you like that…" Remus pressed his finger to Sirius' lips.

"It's the past – we're in the present, lets keep the conversation at that." Sirius smirked and nodded, pecking Remus' lips gently and then pulled the other's chair out before taking a seat in front of him.

Harry and Ron lingered at the door, smiling widely, and then walked out of the bar completely, closing the door behind him.

--

"Harry Potter!" Sirius growled as he entered the café. Hermione looked sheepish as she straddled the chair behind the counter. Harry ducked behind her and Ron made his way behind a coffee maker. "Harry James Potter, remove yourself from behind that girl."

"Now, now, Sirius…" Remus had taken his time entered the café, only to add to the effect that Sirius was about ready to rip off Harry's head. Reaching forward, he wrapped his fingers around Sirius' hand. "The boy did good. They all did, as these three were all apart of it."

Sirius' mock anger faded away as he grabbed his godson into a tight hug.

"You're a good kid, Harry, a good kid. Thanks a lot, you guys." Sirius then wasted no time in dragging Remus up to the flat upstairs, leaving the three college students in fits of laughter.

"Well, Harry, I _told _you it would work." Hermione stated matter-of-factly. Ron nodded his head agreeably.

"I never doubted, Hermione," Harry looked up to the steps that led to his shared flat with his Godfather; "Never, ever doubted…" he grinned again and leaned onto the cash register.

Sirius was happy, Hermione was happy; Ron was happy… why wasn't Harry happy?

Because he was lonely – lonely for a certain someone.

"Don't doubt my prediction about you and Malfoy, either. In time… in time." Harry waved his best friend off.

"You two best get out of here, before dawn breaks and you spend Christmas Eve in a café."

Hermione and Ron exchanged amused glances and then gave Harry a tight hug each before exiting.

Harry wasn't too fond of the idea of missing Draco, but he'd found himself thinking a lot about it since their project had finished. Well, what if he did care about Draco Malfoy a great deal? Was it entirely that big of a problem? Perhaps, as the two had decided to not even recognize that other was alive. Harry simply took it as an unspoken understanding that what had happened was going to remain as nothing – and forever nothing.

And on that disheartened note, Harry flicked off the lights of the counter and made his way to his room, quickly side-stepping passed his Godfather's door to avoid an encounter of the eerie kind – one that involved Sirius and Remus without clothes.

--

"Harry!" Why was it that nearly every morning that was the first thing he heard? Harry wasn't too keen on the realization that his name was becoming very popular to everyone that spoke. But, being levelheaded about his own popularity, Harry shook the thoughts from his head and turned to look up at Hermione as she waved a letter in her hand. "Look what I've got here – a letter for you! It was stuck to the door this morning!"

Harry eagerly snatched the letter from Hermione's hand, and was disappointed to see no return address. In fact, the handwriting didn't even give a clue to who it was as it was unrecognizable. Skipping over the details mentally, Harry peeled open the envelope and out came a small, glittery Christmas card. On the front was a sparkling Christmas tree, presents decorated beneath it, and a bright star at the top. _Merry Christmas!_ Was on the top in red and green lettering. Curiously, Harry perked an eyebrow gracefully, then flipped open the card.

_To Harry-_

_Feel privileged – this card took me an hour to decide on._

_I decided that the best way to go about this would be telling you how I feel. It's nearly Christmas, and perhaps my mind has been completely mangled with the unusual cheer of the season, but I have a feeling that my feelings may last this way, if you allow them to. _

_My father and I never loved each other, and my father never enjoyed my mother's presence like he did your mother's. I saw his eyes light up when he saw her that fateful day. I saw the way he lusted passionately over your mother, and I couldn't find it in my four-year-old mind to try and deal with it. It was hard trying to believe that my father was not only attempting to cheat on my mother, but was trying to seduce **your** mother, one of the most wonderful people I'd have the very short pleasure of meeting. She was amazing, Harry… simply amazing, and I'm sorry you were deprived a lifetime of knowing that._

_I have one last apology to give. I'm sorry I didn't do all of this in person, but I knew with our large break for Christmas, we'd both have time to mull things over. If you choose not to ever speak to me again, that's reasonable, but I do hope we can speak again in person once the holidays are over._

_Harry Potter, I'm even more sorry that I let you get away that day. We were vulnerable, and for a short amount of time, I was able to convince myself that that's all it was that had us snogging like bunnies in heat – vulnerability. But that just wasn't it… I cared, and still do care, a lot about you. _

_Please, accept this apology, and give me a call if you have the chance, my number is on the inside fold of the envelope._

_Yours,_

_Draco Malfoy._

On the right side of the card was another small tree, the words _A Merry Christmas and Many More!_ Hugging the star in a roundabout way.

"Well?" Hermione butt in.

"Draco sent me a Christmas card… and his number, how high school?" He smiled; "What should I do?" Hermione jerked her lips to another smile.

"Call him tomorrow, wish him a merry Christmas… then-"

"-Go to his house and shag him, like you know you want to." Ron added, grinning cheekily. Harry laughed, heat rising to his cheeks.

"Ronald!" Hermione swatted his arm.

"What! It's the truth…" Harry's shoulders shook as he chuckled again.

"Thanks for the idea, Ron, but I think I'll wait until we talk in person, he and I." Hermione nodded her head.

"_Then_ you'll shag him." Hermione swatted Ron again, but laughed along with her friends.

Harry's laughter subsided, and he ran his fingers over Draco's letter in the card, his smile dwindling to a mere, genuine, smirk.

Draco had left the ball in Harry's court – and he was determined to step up and swing back full force.

--

Well, lads and lasses, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this lovely piece of work. Sorry for the long-time, no write for it. Review, review, review! It'll get a reply out of me faster. (:

**Masqued.**


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